Mrs Margaret Carol Stannard. Volunteer, Oak Field School and Specialist Sports College, Nottingham. For services to Special Educational Needs. (Nuthall)

British Swimming Head Coach William (Bill) Furniss has been awarded an OBE in recognition of his dedication to sport in a career at the top that spans more than 30 years.

His honour comes after he led the coaching staff and athletes to Great Britain’s most successful Olympics for more than 100 years at the Rio 2016 Games.

Mr Furniss is a vastly experienced coach, having worked at international level for more than three decades. Prior to his position with British Swimming he was the head coach of the Nova Centurion swimming club in Nottingham. He has worked with a number of highly successful athletes, most notably Mansfield’s four time Olympic medallist Rebecca Adlington.

Commenting on his OBE, he said: “This is a surprise because we do what we do for the love of the sport and not for awards.

“It is a massive honour but is one I feel should be shared due to the progress made by British Swimming in the past four years under the leadership of Chris Spice and myself. We’ve worked well together as a team and collectively achieved some wonderful results so I feel this should be an honour shared.

“I’ve had a long career in swimming and many people, including my family, have contributed so much along the way. There have been some very proud moments for me personally and working with Becky [Adlington] and winning four Olympic medals, including two Olympic titles, is amongst the most memorable.”